2010 Alpine Garden at Mt. Washington - LOOK DOWN, not up

This walk through the Alpine Garden took place at the end of June, 2010. The pictures and descriptions are specific to this time of the alpine growing season.

Specific trails and areas are mentioned in this article. An internet inquiry regarding any trail mentioned in this article should bring up a map or further information regarding the trail. All the trails mentioned are within 700 feet of the top of Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire.

The Appalachian Mountain Club has authored a book, AMC Field Guide to the New England Alpine Summits, by Nancy Slack and Allison Bell, published by The Appalachian Mountain Club Books, Boston, Massachusetts, 2006. This article uses that book as its prime reference source. Specific quotes are identified by {AMC Guide} after the paragraph. Information from Wikipedia is identified by [Wikipedia] after the paragraph. An AMC naturalist at the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, Ms. Carolyn Loeb, was very helpful in identifying the plants, shrubs, trees and wildlife in these pictures.

This area of Mt. Washington is definitely above tree line, as these pictures of the alpine garden attests. The garden is also within what is called “the alpine zone”. It is well named. Mt. Washington is constantly about 10 to 20 degrees below the temperature at the base of the mountain. The winds are almost always blowing and they can be very cold. Fog is not unusual and can be seen in various pictures in this gallery. It can be a very harsh environment.

Diapensia is a small evergreen and perennial shrub. It grows only in the alpine zone. The leaves are blunt, leathery and thick. They can be seen at the base of the flower stalk. In this picture the flowers have already bloomed, leaving only the bracts with the calyx tube inside.